LAPP is opening one of its most sustainable logistics locations

The logistics center in Hanover started operating in autumn 2020, but the official celebration was postponed due to the pandemic. However, we are now finally ready to move forward: “Hanover has become a second home to us. It‘s been almost 40 years now since we started – first, with a sales location and later basing our logistics operations here. Today, the new site is an important and integral part of our efficient and sustainable logistics services”, explains Matthias Lapp, CEO of U.I. Lapp GmbH.

In his video message, Stephan Weil, Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, underlines: “LAPP is a both traditional and innovative enterprise. The logistics center, which opened in 2020, is highly functional and operates with cutting-edge technologies. The family-owned company is focusing future efforts and development on energy efficiency. The Lower Saxony region remains attractive to investors and features a strong regional logistics industry supported by a stable infrastructure.“ The Mayor of Hanover, Thomas Klapproth, emphasizes: “LAPP is an important employer for the state capital. The company strengthens Hanover as a business center, contributing to both a secure future and our taxpayers‘ prosperity".

The new building provides four times more warehouse space

The new building on Max-Mueller-Str. 23 in Hanover is located opposite the former logistics center. The entire property measures 68,000 square meters including 42,000 square meters indoor and outdoor storage areas. The new building alone covers around 15,000 square meters of space, providing four times as much storage capacity with room for growth. A total of 60,000 cable drums with cross-sections ranging from 40 to 280 centimeters can be stored here. Since the company moved, staff numbers have increased significantly from 110 to 173.

For LAPP, the Hanover site is the largest logistics property in Germany and the hub for operations involving customers from Northern Germany, Benelux, Scandinavia and Great Britain. Additionally, it is a center for sustainable products as this is where all photovoltaic and glass fibre cables and cables for large wind turbines are kept.

Sustainable production

However, our energy efficiency goals are not only reflected in the products. “Sustainability was also key when we set up the site”, explains Andreas Gesse, director of the logistics center in Hanover. “Thanks to our brand new packaging system, we were able to reduce gas consumption by around 50 per cent and save 30 per cent of the protective foil used on cable drums. On some of the cable drums, we no longer use any foil at all. Instead, they are bundled with a belt", Gesse continues.

Recycling also plays an key role at the new plant. A regional company uses a special wooden press to recycle old cable drums by shredding and processing them to produce new ones. Thanks to this sustainable cycle, LAPP is now wasting four times less wood than before. Moreover, cardboard waste is no longer simply thrown away but recycled and used as filler material for packaging.

Energy-efficient and insect-friendly

The entire forklift fleet has been converted to electric power to make the site as energy-efficient as possible. Each individual aisle in the warehouse has been equipped with motion detectors to reduce electricity demands. Mowing robots, used to maintain the outside lawns, have replaced fossil fuel technologies and a quarter of the outdoor premises have been converted to flower meadows for insects.

Additional locations in Ludwigsburg and Poland

In addition to the Hanover site, LAPP operates three other logistic centers: One at the company headquarters in Stuttgart and another in the adjacent Ludwigsburg, which supplies the regions of southern Europe and Turkey. A further location in Poland provides Eastern Europe with products. “The new site in Hanover allows us to focus on the future and further improve services for our customers”, Thomas Vasterling, Executive Vice President Logistics of U.I. Lapp GmbH, expresses in a statement.